Publisher's Synopsis
Written in Lauren Denton's signature Southern style, The Summer House tells the story of two women who must face the pain of the past to embrace the future and learn who they truly are.
On the island of Safe Harbor, two women learn the power of letting go.
When Lily Bishop's husband walks out, desperation drives Lily to take a job as the resident hairdresser at Safe Harbor Village, an active living community on the shore of Bon Secour Bay, Alabama. What's supposed to be nothing more than a way to support herself as she figures out her next move quickly turns into more as she settles into the salon and gets to know the village residents--including the prickly owner, Rose Carrigan, whom Lily suspects is hiding something more than just her distaste for Coach Beaumont's early morning crooning.
Rose runs a tight ship, keeping watch over the village, ensuring all rules are followed, and staying at arm's length from the other residents. She lets her guard down for two people--her nephew Rawlins, who works in the family shrimping business, and his five-year-old daughter, Hazel.
As the summer days stretch out with no word from Lily's husband, Worth, Lily tentatively allows her own longings and hopes to stretch in the sunlight, just as down the road, Rose works to overcome years of isolation and regret by opening herself up to possibility, and maybe even love. Here in Safe Harbor--the scoop of land where sea captains used to wait out choppy waters and unexpected storms--these two very different women sharpen and soften each other in ways they never could have predicted.
